NTSB finds two recorders in NYC commuter train crash

Monday

Dec 2, 2013 at 9:21 AM

NEW YORK — Two data recorders retrieved from the commuter train that derailed while rounding a riverside curve, killing four people, may provide information on the speed of the train, how the brakes were applied and the throttle setting, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board said today.

The Associated Press

NEW YORK — Two data recorders retrieved from the commuter train that derailed while rounding a riverside curve, killing four people, may provide information on the speed of the train, how the brakes were applied and the throttle setting, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board said today.

The NTSB was downloading data from a recorder previously found in the rear locomotive in the train that derailed Sunday in New York. A second recorder was found in the front car of the train and has been sent to Washington for analysis, NTSB board member Earl Weener said.

Weener said investigators have already had some success in retrieving data, but the information has to be validated before it's made public.

Investigators plan to conduct interviews today or Tuesday with the engineer and conductor, Weener said. He also said clues could be found from a signaling system operated by dispatchers at a central location.

Workers began the arduous task of righting the toppled rail cars. Five passenger cars and the locomotive were back on the tracks by around 9:30 a.m.

Officials warned the 26,000 weekday riders on the affected line of the nation's second-biggest commuter railroad to brace for crowded trains; shuttle buses were being provided. However, Metro-North Railroad spokesman Aaron Donovan said no major delays were reported during the early part of the rush hour.

"We'd like to get service up toward the end of the week," Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.

About 150 people were on board when the train derailed Sunday morning on Metro-North's Hudson line. About 60 were injured. Mayor Michael Bloomberg said 11 patients initially in critical condition did not appear to have life-threatening injuries.

The NTSB said its investigators could spend up to 10 days probing all aspects of the accident that toppled seven cars and the locomotive at a bend in the Bronx where the Hudson and Harlem rivers meet. The speed limit on the curve is 30 mph, compared with 70 mph in the area approaching it, Weener said.

The agency said it would consider whether excessive speed, mechanical problems or human error played a role in the crash.